Fireproof construction.



No. 732,483. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903;

w. N. WIGHT.

FIREPROOF CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED saw. a, 1902.

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No. 732,483. :PATE'NTED JUNE 30, 1903.

' I W- N. WIGHT.

.FIREPROOP CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEIT. 8. 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIG. 4.

WITNESSES-z r 1 Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM N. WI GHT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIREPROOF CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,483, dated. June 30, 1903. Application filed September 8, 1902. Serial No. 122,464. (No model.) I

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM N. WIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city,county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fireproof Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention provides an improved fire-' proof construction adapted for floors, ribs, beams, columns, and the like and composed of a combination of concrete with embedded metal fabric so arranged as to secure great tensile strength, so that a considerable span may be constructed between I-beams or similar supports, whereby a shallow floor and a corresponding saving of head-room may be obtained without sacrificing strength and whereby economy in the amount of concrete used may be effected.

My invention provides also various other features of advantage, which are set forth in the following Specification in detail.

In the accompanying drawings, showing embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a cross-section of a complete floor built accord ing to my improved system. Fig. 2 is a similar view of another form of the invention. Fig. 3 is an enlarged portion of Fig. 1, showing the wire fabric on an exaggerated scale for I the purpose of clearness. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of another form of floor built according to my improved system. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged sections of portions of Fig. 4. Figs. 7 and 8 are ahorizontal section and a side elevation, respectively, of a column built according to myimproved system. Fig.9 is a transverse section of another floor built according to my improved system.

In building floors according to my invention any suitable supports are provided-such, for example, as the usual I-beamsextending from'wall to wall if the span is short or between girders in the case of long spans. Any suitable centering below the beams is provided. Wire fabric of a construction peculiarly suited to the purposes of my invention is then arranged between the'beams, and concrete is molded about the wire fabric and between the supports. The fabric which I preferably use is peculiarly adapted to the purpose, being composed of straight wires in the direction between the supports and crosswires spacing the straight wires, bent around the same at the crossing points and bound to the straight wires by means of bindingwires at the crossing-points. The fabric is preferably made of sufficient length to extend continuously from wall to wall of a structure. According to my preferred form of floor the concrete between the supports is of less depth than the supports themselves, thereby efiecting a considerable saving in concrete, the additional space between the supports, if above the concrete,being filled in with cinders,cheap concrete, or other filling material not particularly adapted to the sustaining of the floor loads; Where the sustaining-concrete is in the upper part of the bay between the supports,

the space is left on its under side and may be finished as an arch of the ceiling or may be filled in in any suitable way. In either case the wire fabric may follow substantially the contour of the concrete plate. Preferably the concrete plate lies in the lower part of the bay and is horizontal throughoutfits central portion, extending abruptly upward at the supports, and the wire fabric extends in a similar line, bending upward abruptly at points adjacent to the supports, passing over the same, and hanging in a catenary or natural curve between such points. The concrete thus envelops the beams and the fabric to protect them from moisture or other deleterious atmospheric agencies and greatly stiffens and reinforces the beam as well as the fabric.

Referring now to the embodiments of 'the invention illustrated,'the walls of the building are shown at A, and the intermediate supports are shown as I-beams B. The concrete molded between the supports may be in the form of comparatively thin plates 0, Fig. 1, filling substantially the lower half of each bay and having an abrupt upwardly-extending portion D at each of the supports, or it may consist of a similar flat plate 0, Fig. 2, without the portion Dat the supports, or it may consist of a similar flat plate 0, Fig. 4, arranged in the upper half of the bay and having downwardly-extending portions D at each of the supports, or it may consist of a plate 0 Fig. 9, similar in general to C, but tapering gradually from the center downward to the bottom of each of the supports to form an arch D on its under side. In each case the wire fabric is arranged to follow substantially the same lines as the concrete. In Fig. 1 the fabric consists of a continuous strip having an end portion E embedded in each wall, from which it extends over each of the I-beams B, being bent downwardly, as at E, at points adjacent to each of the I- beams and extending in a catenary, as at E between each of such points and being embedded throughout its length in the concrete D. In the construction shown in Fig. 2 the path of the wire fabric is the same; but only the part of it lying in the lower portion of the bays is embedded in the supporting-concrete C. The portions of the fabric which extend above the plate 0 are, however, embedded iu the filling material F, which occupies the space above the plate 0 and which may be, as stated, cinders, cheap concrete, or the like.

According to the form of the invention illustrated on a larger scale in Fig. 3 the wire fabric consists of two sheets, each of which is preferably arranged similarly to the sheet E E E of Fig. 1. The main portions E of the sheets are spaced apart from each other, and the meshes of the two sheets are arranged in staggered order. The two sheets are arranged so far apart that the weakness of the concrete along one line will not add to the weakness along the other. By this construction I get as great a tensile strength as if a single fabric were used with double the number of wires and as great a compressive strengththat is, strength of the concreteas if but one sheet of fabric with a large mesh were used.

The longitudinal strands G of the fabric which I preferably use are continuous straight wires-that is to say, they have no bends or curves in the original fabric. They thus most effectively distribute the stress from the load without any yielding. The concrete itself has sufiicient strength to resist compression of its upper portion, and therefore to hold the vertical portion E of the fabric from distortion. In order to preventlateral spreading of the main wires G of the fabric and in order incidentally to take the secondary stresses which occur in the direction parallel to the I-beams, cross-wires G are used and are bent over the wires G at crossing-points and tied thereto by short wires G Figs. 5 to 8.

I may desire to provide the floor-plate with strengthening-ribs,in which case the main concrete plate preferably occupies the upper part of the bay,as at G, Figs.4, 5, and 6, and the ribs H extend on the under side of the plate and in a direction parallel to the I-beams B. The ribs H may extend continuously from one to to the other of the girders, which support the I-beams B in the well-known manner. Aceiling J of any suitable sort may be attached to the under sides of the ribs H. In this construction the floor-plate C is reinforced by the wire-netting E E (either one or two sheets.) The ribs H are molded integrally therewith and about a strengthening wire fabric which, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is of the same style as that used in the floor-plate. Preferably the straight wires G run longitudinally of the rib and the cross-wires G transversely thereof, and preferably also the fabric is of U shape, followingthecontourof therib.

The rib in effect is a concrete and metal beam serving to distribute concentrated loads from one point to another of the floor-plate. It may, in fact, be made as a separate beam. Figs. 7 and 8 represent a structure which may be used for a separate beam of this style or for a column. In this case the straight wires G run lengthwise of the beam or column and the cross-wires G run transversely thereof, the fabric extendingentirelyaround the structure substantially parallel with its outer surface.

\Vhere it is desired to construct the floorplate in the upper part of the bay between two beams, as indicated, for example, in Fig. 9, it is within my invention to use in combination with a sheet of fabric E extending continuously over the tops of the beams, a second sheet of fabric E composed of separate sections extending upward from thelower flange of the I-beams and following substantially the lowersurface of the concrete plate C Though I have described with great particularity of detail structures embodying my invention, yet I am not to be understood as limiting the invention to the specific structu res described. Various modifications thereof in the details and in the combination and arrangements of the parts may be made by those skilled in theart without departure from the invention.

I claim as my invention 1. In a floor, the combination of parallelI- beams, concrete molded between said beams and having its central portion of less depth than that of the beams, and wire fabric extended continuously over and between a number of said beams with a substantially horizontal central portion embedded in said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires spacing said straight wires and bound thereto at their crossing-points.

2. In a floor, the combination of parallel I- beams, concrete molded between said I-beams and having its central portion of less depth than said I-beams and its end portions of as great depth as said I-beams, and wire fabric extended continuously over and between a number of said I-beams and embedded in said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires spacing said straight wires and bound thereto at their crossingpoints.

3. In a floor, the combination of supports, concrete molded between said supports, and wire fabric suspended between said supports, depressed at points adjacent to said supports and'embedded in said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires for spacing said straight wires, and said concrete being molded with a face substantially parallel with said fabric.

4. In a floor, the combination of supports, concrete molded between said supports, and wire fabric suspended between said supports, depressed abruptly at points adjacent to said supports, and embedded in said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction'between said supports and cross-wires for spacing said-straight wires.

5. In a floor, the combination of supports, concrete molded between said supports, and

wire fabric suspended between said supports,

depressed abruptly at points adjacent to said supports, and embedded in'said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and crosswires spacing said straight wires and bent around the same at the crossing-points.

6. In a floor, the combination of supports, concrete molded between said supports, and wire fabric suspended between said supports, depressed abruptly at points adjacent to said supports, and embedded in said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports, cross-wires spacing said straight wires and bent around the same at the crossing-points, and bindingwires binding together the straight wires and the cross-wires at the crossing-points.

7. Inafloor, the combination with walls and intermediate supports, of concrete molded between said walls and intermediate supports, and Wire fabric extended continuously from wall to wall and over said intermediate supports, depressed abruptly at points adjacent to said supports, and embedded in said concrete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires spacing said straight wires.

8. In a floor, the combination of supports,

concrete molded between said supports, and sheets of wire fabric suspended between said supports, depressed abruptly at points adjacent to said supports, and embedded in said concrete, said sheets being spaced apart from each other and being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires for spacing said straight wires. 9. In a floor, the combination of supports, concrete molded between said supports and having its central portion of less depth than that of the supports, wire fabric extended between said supports with a substantially horizontal central portion embedded in said cons crete, said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires spacing said straight wires, and a stiffening-rib projecting from said floor and formed of, concrete having embedded therein a similar fabric extending substantially parallel with the faces of said rib.

10. In a floor, the combination of parallel I-beams, concrete molded between said beams and having its central portion of less depth I than that of said beams, wire fabric extended continuously over and'between a number of said beams with a substantially horizontal .central portion embedded in said concrete,

said fabric being composed of straight wires in the direction between said supports and cross-wires spacing said straight wires, and said straight and cross wires being bound together at their crossing-points, and a stiffening-rib projecting from said fioor formed of concrete having embedded therein a similar fabric extending substantially parallel with the faces of said rib.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM N. WIGHT.

Witnesses:

THOMAS F. WALLACE, FRED WHITE. 

